A line of orange-red stretched across the horizon. Layer upon layer, the white clouds were dyed crimson. The great river surged onward, ceaseless through the ages, bearing witness to joy and sorrow, to partings and reunions.
Meng Qi slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was deep and bottomless. The mountain before him was still the same mountain, and the water the same river, yet under his gaze, they were no longer as pure as before. He could see countless tiny fissures that appeared and vanished in an instant, and watch them overlap with innumerable faint, "illusory" scenes.
"Void Seal..." Meng Qi murmured. The strange light vanished from his eyes, and they returned to normal. The mountains and rivers looked no different from before.
He rose, put away the Spirit Treasure Divine Saber, and walked to the Building of No Benevolence's master, whose corpse had been left in ruins by the aftermath of the final strike. He lifted the head, which was still relatively intact.
The head was bare, its face uncovered. His forehead had been shattered, and his brains and blood had long since sprayed away, leaving only a few red and white traces. His features were ordinary, his eyes wide open, frozen in the pain of sinking into ruin and the joy of release.
His back straight, Meng Qi held the head and "walked" toward the Divine Capital, rising higher with every step.
Within the palace city, in the rear hall of the Council of State, where the emperor rested.
Prince Qin, Zhao Jingshi, sat behind the desk. On his left sat the Cui Family Head, Cui Qingyu, and the Minister of the Left, Cui Yan. On his right sat the Zhang Clan Head, Zhang Baili, and Counselor of State Zhang Baili. At his side stood the "former"